


Shifting

by MrsThreepwood



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Character Development, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kind of AU, Loki is back, M/M, Porn With Plot, Slash, post Thor 2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-29
Updated: 2014-03-13
Packaged: 2018-01-10 12:50:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 12,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1159936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsThreepwood/pseuds/MrsThreepwood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The god of mischief is back - and boy is he pissed.<br/>But trying to rule the earth (again) is not his only interest. There's one person, almost forgotten by most people, that caught his eye quite a time ago. And there's nothing he wouldn't do to act upon his desires...</p><p>This story takes place after Thor 2 and The Avengers, so there are spoilers though it is quite an AU-fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Visits and Returns

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Tio](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Tio).



> This one is dedicated to my wonderful ex-gf. Tio, you know I still love you with all of my heart - you're my best friend and my family.  
> I said tonight you'd get a surprise and here it is ;) Instead of sending it via mail (I thought better of it when I knew how many pages that would be), I decided I'll give you one chapter after each day of work, so you'll have something to look forward to. Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> And of course I hope any other person on here enjoys it as well!

New York seems to be long forgotten in Clint Barton's life. Well, not the city of course, he was currently living there after all. But in Clint's mind 'New York' is not just the name of a city, it's a reminder - a reminder of adventure, of blood rushing through his veins, of adrenaline running high, of kissing Natasha after not seeing her for months.

But that's only a small memory in his mind now. While Tony kept being Tony, saving the world or at least some part of it on a regular basis, Bruce got back to science, occasionally helping out at Stark Industries. Steve picked up training and serving the army again and Thor and Loki (that bastard) have gone back to their own world finally.  
All of them were occupied doing something spectacular or at least meaningful – all of them but Clint. He was shifting uncomfortably on his bed in his small apartment, when he heard footsteps on the hallway. A small spark of hope rose in his stomach. Maybe Natasha would visit him again, show him he is important after all – though he knew she should be quite busy in Moscow right now. Ready to jump from his bed to the door, he felt disappointment washing through him as the footsteps grew more quiet, indicating the person out there has obviously passed his apartment-door and was now off to another destination.

Clint closed his eyes and thought of the last three years. Oh, how amazing the first months after 'New York' had been. People treated him like a hero, some kids even asking for autographs on the streets. He'd been invited to the highest of social events and attended a bunch of them, always with Natasha on his side. But as time flew by, media became more and more interested in his kind-of-girlfriend's cleavage rather than their special talents in … well, finding, hurting and sometimes killing people. He wasn't as clever as Bruce and the lack of a star-spangled banner being a part of his outfit made him less of a national symbol than Captain America. Of course none of them could keep up with Tony – he was made for the frenzy of camera flashes and dramatic entrances.  
But still it was hard to see how boring most people thought he was. No superpowers, no fancy suit, no big boobs: Clint was just a normal guy with a good eyesight after all.

With all the automatic telescopes on rifles and crossbows nowadays, there was simply no need for him any more. And after 14 months of screwing on every surface in their bis ass Manhattan apartment, even Natasha grew tired of him, eventually leaving for some special jobs in eastern Europe.  
He moved to a smaller flat and took a job at a local archery club. When he trained young children how to handle a bow, he didn't feel too useless, even if it was a pathetic job for someone who had fought a demigod.

Without any real motivation he pulled himself out of bed to make some coffee. It was 2.43 pm. and he had to be at work in about an hour. Clint eyed the green wallpaper in his small kitchen as it slightly came off in a corner. 'Time to do something about it', he thought to himself, though he knew this task would be forgotten soon as well.  
He poured coffee into one his few mugs (advertising gift by Stark Industries), slightly crinkling his face as the smell hit his nose. Maybe he should ask Tony for a new coffee maker as well, since his own seemed to produce only black water smelling like mud.

Gulping his mud-water down, Clint decided there wasn't enough time for a shower and simply changed into fresh clothes. As he looked into his wardrobe, his gaze lingered on his old uniform. He hadn't worn it in months but still he couldn't bear to throw it out. With a bit more force than necessary he closed the doors to his wardrobe and swirled around. Time to put up a smile again, time to be friendly to co-workers, kids and parents, time to be the amazing marksman Mr. Barton and not miserable Clint.

* * *

 

The hours at the archery club went by in what felt like an instant to Clint and to his own surprise, he was genuinely enjoying the time. At least some of the kids were deeply impressed by his skills, staring at him with their jaws dropped. One of his students, the 10-year old Jonathan, reminded Clint of himself when he was this young. Maybe it was because Jonathan had also lost his parents at an early age, but mostly it was the passion and pure joy the young boy emanated as soon he picked up a bow. He was quite talented, despite of his thick glasses, and maybe some day he'd be able to compete in some big athletic events.

After classes, Clint gave Jonathan a lift home like he dad every Tuesday and Friday. The boy lived only 3 blocks from his own apartment and since Jonathan's aunt, with which he lived now, wasn't too crazy about this whole archery-thing, it was better to bring him home safely after training.  
As he said goodbye to his student, Clint felt how much his mood had shifted in the last hours. He wore a smile on his face, confident with his own abilities and happy about the progress of his students.  
Like every day he left the car in the underground parking garage of the building (one of the very few amenities of this place) and took the stairs to his flat. There was an elevator, but Clint wanted to stay at least in some good shape.

He knew something was off as soon as he reached his door. Looking around in the hallway he realized all the other apartments were flagged with flyers of cheap take-away restaurants. Only on his door the small piece of paper wasn't dangling on the handle, but lying on the floor right in front of him. Either some guy had done a sloppy job here or someone had moved his door, causing the flyer to fall down.  
He pushed gently on the door and – as it didn't surprise him – it swung open.

All of his muscles tensed up, as he was also a trained close combat fighter, and Clint threw himself into his flat, taking in all of his surroundings at once.

Though he had wished for it earlier in the day, it did took him some time to realize that she was really sitting on his bed, dressed in her black leather suit and a wicked grin on her full lips: Natasha.  
Or, going after her looks, it was rather Agent Romanoff, who swung her long legs around, stood up and closed the gap between them.

“Good, you're home. Get yourself ready, suit, bow, arrows.”, she commanded, leaving no room for any kind of hesitation or arguing.  
Clint packed his things in a hurry, knowing there must have been some bad shit going on if he was asked for help.  
“What's going on? What's it all about?”, he asked as he followed Natasha out his flat.  
Said woman spun around, a mixture of anticipation and love of adventure in her eyes.

“It's Loki. He's back.”


	2. A New Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two little hints on DC in this one :D They just kind of happened.

Loki smirked as he sat back in his chair. Oh, these humans. Weren't they adorable? Obviously they really thought they would catch him again this time.  
Closing his eyes, he replayed the last events he had witnessed in his mind. 

“He's getting unwary. Several people spotted him on the streets of New York. Can you believe it? This won't take too much time, this son of a bitch will make a big mistake really soon.”, Nick Fury had said only a couple of minutes ago in front of 'The Avengers' and a couple of S.H.I.E.L.D.-agents. Or at least in front of what Fury thought to be his agents...

Of course. Of course people had seen him! A huge grin spread on the face of the god of mischief. After the last events, he expected this whole thing to be much more complicated – but obviously humans were even less intelligent than he'd imagined them to be. Walking right into his trap, without ever asking if it hadn't been a bit too simple to spot him, the great Loki.  
Even tricking his brother and pretty much everyone in Asgard had worked out without any major problems.  
Feelings. It was so easy to make people and even gods to believe in the good nature of another being. They were all so limited in their tiny minds, believing it would only take a couple of good words and brotherly love to convince him to become a part of the 'good ones'. Oh, it was brilliant to see the look on Thor's face as he realized who had been reigning Asgard over a couple of months. Getting rid of Odin was probably the hardest part of his plan but in the end, the old man wasn't a real challenge as well. And as much as it had hurt him to lose Frigga, abandoning his adoptive father in a world of darkness and leaving him for his certain death, didn't give Loki any sleepless nights.

Shapeshifting had always been an enormous advantage for Loki and as long as his brother was occupied with his little human friends, there wasn't any kind of threat for him. He never fully understood how Thor could get engaged with a person so dull like this Foster-woman. She wasn't even pretty and her special talent was obviously to look like a kicked puppy. But humans were made to kneel and as far as Loki was informed, his brother's girlfriend did a lot of kneeling lately...

In a swift motion the god opened his eyes and began strolling around his earthly home. It had been a good choice, an abandoned mansion right outside the city of New York. An old and rusty sign in front of the house said something about this place having been some kind of orphanage, founded by a guy named Watson or Wayne or something like that. Whoever it was, this guy obviously had a great taste for houses and interior work.  
Being a god or not – it was always nice to have a comfortable bed. Even if there were no servants at the moment, so fluffing up his pillow was Loki's own task right now. But it wouldn't be too long until he could pick one pitiable creature of earth to be his personal slave.

There were only very humans Loki didn't think of as worthless and pathetic.  
First of all, there was this green... thing. He was a quite clever scientist but as soon as someone messed with him, there would happen some dark magic and he turned into a merciless and indestructible monster. Loki's back still hurt every time he thought about his final seconds in Stark Tower. Though he was sure the 'Hulk' as humans called the creature, could be of much use to him in the future. Having him as a pet would definitely discourage some of his enemies. And enemies he would have a lot in the near future – not that it was any different now.  
The second had been Selvig. Sure, now he was as pathetic as any other human being, but a couple of years ago he had been the key to building a device for the creation of a huge portal to other worlds. Hadn't he been so awfully loyal to the human race, Loki would have kept this one as well.

The last 'kind-of-interesting' human being to Loki was Hawkeye. He had no idea what his real name was, maybe it had been said but clearly it wasn't important to Loki at this point. Was it Clark? Maybe it was, but he would find out soon enough. Sure, Hawkeye had fought him in the end, joining some crew of self-proclaimed super heroes. But he was the only one with real talent and passion. Forget the guy in the tin can and the one wrapped in a flag. The eyesight of Hawkeye wasn't human, it was some sort of godlike ability. Oh and how adventurous and especially dark he was. Of course Loki knew his staff had played a role in that one as well, but it didn't take any real effort to 'persuade' Hawkeye to join and work for him. Obviously the man didn't only know how to handle a bow, he also had the right feeling where he really belonged and that definitely wasn't at Nick Fury's side.

The front door of his mansion squeaked softly as Loki pushed it open and stepped outside into the chilly night. He always had worked better with darkness around him and his green eyes sparkled with evil joy as he took the first steps on the small path leading to the main road, only dimly lit by the moon.

You can't kill an idea and seeding mistrust was such an easy thing these days. It was only a matter of time until the Avengers would start to take themselves to pieces.


	3. The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick Fury assembles the Avengers and Tony is being Tony.

A few hours earlier

Utter silence surrounded the two agents as they sat in the back of one of the millions of cabs driving through New York City. Fury had ordered them to come into a secret base, causing as less public attention as possible. People would be worried for sure if they caught several well known 'heroes' gathering at one place and there was no reason to cause a panic attack right now.  
Even Tony was told to take one of his cars rather than using Mark whatever-number-he-was-on-now , though his license plate would give him away for sure.

After several minutes of driving towards the destination given to him, the cabbie broke the silence as he eyed his passengers in the rear-view mirror.  
“Hey, you're that spider-girl, aren't you?”  
“Excuse me?”, Natasha asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.  
“Ah, can't fool me. Your face was all over the press a few years ago. What was your nickname? Black Widow? Hot chick saving the world, yeah, can remember this one. What did you do? Distracting the bad guys with your boobs?”

The driver's little speech ended as they had to stop at a red light. Without a warning Natasha wrapped her slender but strong arm around the fat and greasy throat in front of her.  
“You're paid to drive, asshole. So you better shut up right now and take us where we've told you. Or would you rather end like one of the 'bad guys'? Oh, and let me assure you: they didn't get to see any boobs before I knocked them out.”, she added with an evil smirk on her lips as she tightened her deathgrip. The cabbie shook his head violently and sucked in as much air as possible when his neck was finally free again.

Clint grinned when Natasha slumped back into her seat. Yes, that was the woman he knew after all. The rest of the drive was free from any other disturbances and it only took them another fifteen minutes to arrive at their destination. Or at least at a building close to their destination. Natasha threw the money for the ride onto the back-seat without giving the driver any more attention.

As they walked side by side, slipping through backstreets and narrow alleys, Clint decided to finally act on his thoughts.  
“You could have visited me before, you know. We probably didn't have the best ending but... yeah, I know you have balls but obviously only when it comes to fighting.” he spat out, more anger in his voice then he had intended.  
For a moment, Natasha was baffled. Of course she knew she didn't treat Clint like a friend in these last months but they only had a brief and mainly sexual affair and it didn't occur to her he'd be actually hurt by her non-existing visits.  
Before she could react, Clint raised his voice again: “Look, forget it, let's focus on the real problems here. No need for me to act like a jealous bitch right now, I'm sorry.”  
“No. No, it's... you're right. Should have come along once in a while. Or at least call or... hell, what do normal people do? Send postcards when they're off to kill some corrupt business man? 'Hi Clint. Hope you're still enjoying NYC. The weather here in Moscow is awful. But people are nice. Their begging is so adorable when I'm about to punch them in the throat. You should visit! Kisses, Natasha'. Yes, I can clearly see how that would have been better.”  
The thought of actually receiving a postcard like that made Clint laugh. She was right, they weren't normal people after all (as much as he had pretended to be recently) and there was no way they could act like friends, that just met at their first year in college.

I didn't take them long to find the heavy guarded entrance to their new base. They were given badges, though Clint and Natasha were well known around here and didn't really need them, and strode down a long and bright corridor before entering the big conference room. A quick glance around and many familiar faces greeted them as they had obviously been the last ones to arrive. A few S.H.I.E.L.D-agents lined the walls of the room, guarding the group.  
Nick Fury shook hands with both of them and laid out a couple of pictures on the big round table in the middle of the room. Some of them were stills of cctv-footage, other ones made by citizens and tourists with cameras and cells.

“Gentlemen. And yes, I'm also including you, Natasha. As some of you already know, our favourite enemy is back. Several people called the police in the last weeks, stating they've seen Loki wandering around. Four months ago we got the first report, though we thought it was a mistake at first, maybe someone dressing up. Local farmer said he saw – and here I quote – 'This weird alien guy who had a blacksmith as a brother' somewhere behind his barn. But in the last three weeks sightings get more and more, we already got 3 reports in 5 days. We've no idea what he's up to exactly but look at the pictures – He's getting unwary. Several people spotted him on the streets of New York. Can you believe it? This won't take too much time, this son of a bitch will make a big mistake really soon.”

Tony rose from his seat, in his usual 'I'm the king of the world'-way. “Please, let's get over with this. As soon as you spot him, give Pepper a call. I won't answer the phone anyway. I'll take care of it and as long as my big green friend is with me, there's nothing to fear. Bruce and me, we won't need the help of a young lady, Mr. Patriot himself or modern Robin Hood. So if you could step out of my way, that would be too nice. There's a new shawarma place in Manhatten and I really want to...”

“Shut up, Tony.”, the voice of Fury rumbled through the room. “You're part of a team and you'll act like that as well. God, I'm tired of trying to educate you in social manners. You will go home and you'll act normally. Give interviews, be the cool and great Tony Stark you think you are. Make the press believe there's nothing wrong, world peace is just around the corner – the usual stuff. Dr. Banner, you'll stay here with me, just like Agent Romanoff and Mr. Barton. The world won't be too bemused when you don't show up in public for a couple of days. Captain Rogers, you won't accept any missions in the near future. Keep close to New York and work out. I hope this suit of yours still fits. When any of you is called, I expect you to be here in within an hour. Anyone who won't arrive in time, will be suspended. Excuse me, I've got work to do. Banner, Romanoff, Barton – Mrs. Brown will show you your rooms for the next couple of nights. I'm sure you will have a very pleasant stay.” he added with not only a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Said rooms were on the far end of a wide corridor, three identical doors with a plain name panel on each of them. Mrs. Brown, a young woman with long black hair and a look in her bright blue eyes that allowed no opposition of any kind, explained the schedule for the following day and left the three of them for the night. Obviously Bruce had still a lot of trouble with the whole Avengers-plans as he quickly slipped into his room, mumbling something that sounded like “Good night”.  
When Clint wanted to excuse himself for the night as well and reached for the doorknob of his room, he felt a strong grip on his wrist.

Natasha met his eyes and the seductive smile she wore made Clint shiver. “Oh, I think we won't need two rooms for tonight” she lured him as she opened her own room and dragged Clint into it, closing the door with force behind them.


	4. Undercover Work

There was one thing Loki had learned from his last visit on earth: If you want to rule a whole world, you've got to know your future subjects.   
He had underestimated the will to live freely of some individuals, but overall Loki had seen the sheer need of the humans to be guided. The last time he wanted to sacrifice this planet but that was long before he had discovered the potential of the human race and earth itself.

Of course there was a lot of work to do but the god was absolutely positive, with a strong and intelligent ruler, people on this planet would be able to recognize their own abilities and finally start to live instead of just existing.

Before he stopped a taxi on the main road he had to decide which kind of appearance he had to use to reach his goals tonight – which was especially research. In the end Loki remembered a weekly occasion and went for a quite generic look: young blonde female, not too pretty but still attractive, middle-class clothing style. Nothing that would scream 'Look at me, I'm a god'. He had used this figure before and it worked pretty good for him, especially at the book club he wanted to attend. It was beyond his understanding why humans felt the need to gather once in a while to speak about random works of literature. But it was a perfect opportunity to study the social dynamics on this planet, which – as he had learned – consisted a lot of gossip and self-centred conversations. But that was nothing too different from Asgard.

It took him or rather her twelve minutes to hail a cab and give the address of the small book store to the driver.  
Obviously these people had to make conversation as soon as someone entered their vehicle and so it was just a matter of time until the usual exchange started.  
“Heading into the city, eh? Why does a young and nice lady like you live in such an abandoned area?”  
“I like the privacy and silence” a high and soft voice answered – hoping this hint would end any kind of small talk right away. It didn't work though and the driver went on.  
“Oh, that's nice. I'll probably retire on the country as well. Y'know my wife always wanted to grow her own vegetables. Can't do that in the city, can you?”  
“I don't think so.”  
“Yeah, that's what I told her as well. 'Maggie', I told her, 'Maggie we'll move to a nice little rural town when we're a bit older. And you will have a garden there. A big one. Just some more years.' And she was so happy about it. Here, that's a picture of her”, he said, tapping on to a faded photograph stuck to the dash board. It showed a woman in her early thirties, wearing a terrible dress with a huge flower print.  
“Nice.”  
“Yes, she is. Photo was taken when we were in Florida. You ever been there? I tell you, it's so humid and...”

The ride went on for another forty minutes and Loki stored away all the information he got. Though he was definitely no fan of meaningless small talk, it did help him to understand the humans. Or at least some of them. Shape shifting made it incredibly easy to 'earn' the little pieces of paper and metal needed for a life of earth and when he paid the driver, Loki probably left more than enough of a tip.

When he entered the store, a chubby female in her late teens almost jumped into his direction.   
“Oh Laura, you're here! We thought you wouldn't make it. Come, have the seat next to me. Oh my god, there is SO much to talk about later!”  
Loki or, as he called himself in this situations, 'Laura' sat down next to... what was her name again? He was really bad with names. Sarah! It was Sarah.  
“I'm sorry I'm late, Sarah. But you know how New York is. All busy and it's horrible to get through the rush hour.”  
“Oh girl, you don't have to tell me!”

“Ladies. Please. May I have your attention?” The organizer of their group was standing in the middle of the circle of chairs and spoke to them in her sharp but cheery voice.   
“I'm glad so many of us are here again tonight, despite all the parties going on. It's nice to see there are still people interested in books rather than booze. Let's talk about this week's book.,,”

Their little session was over in a little more than one hour and now and then Laura would throw in a clever response to a question, making the other ones go “Ahhh.” and “You're brilliant, Laurie!”. Obviously it didn't need much to impress them.

Afterwards the real useful conversations began. As expected, it was all about relationships this time.  
Studying the reactions around him, Loki was caught off-guard when Sarah suddenly addressed him.

“Laura. What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?”  
“What? No. No, I don't.”  
“Oh, why? You're so pretty! Is there someone you like?”  
“No, not really.”  
“Not really? Ohhh, there is one, isn't it. Come on, tell us!”  
Loki had to think fast, after all he had to stay in character if he didn't want to rise any suspicions. He sighed deeply and all of sudden a name he couldn't quite grasp appeared in his mind.

“Clint. His name is Clint.”


	5. night shift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint and Natasha decide to spend the night together in a rather interesting way.
> 
> Yeah, it's pretty much porn...

Meanwhile, somewhere in NYC, not too far from a certain book store.

“Natasha, wait... what are doing?”  
“I thought we might as well use this night. And I know we're not like Tony, so no one of us will become an expert in nuclear science in the next couple of hours...”  
“Yes, thanks, I know I'm not that clever, no need to rub it in my face.”  
“That's not what I was going for, Clint. Can't you just... relax?”  
“Oh yeah, sure. It's not like I've lead a miserable life in the last months, missing you and suddenly Loki showed up again, which could change everything in the flicker of an eye. Everything's perfectly normal, so go on and I'll just relax.”  
“Shut up”, Natasha commanded before grabbing Clint by the collar of his black dress shirt and pinning him to wall.

Clint himself was rather surprised. He knew she was strong, but it was still amazing how much power she had over him, physically and mentally.  
Full and soft lips crushed on his in a demanding yet also begging way. Everything Natasha wasn't able to say out loud was laid into his kiss. It was 'I know you still want me' and 'Please forgive me' at the same time, leaving them breathless until Natasha pulled away and looked at him with a slight hint of insecurity in her eyes.

“You're in then? Let's not make it more complicated than it already is...”  
Thinking about her words for a second, Clint came to the conclusion, that maybe she was right. He didn't know whether the world would end within the next days so he could make the best of the time as well.  
“Yeah, I'm in.”

Another kiss followed, but there was nothing like begging or asking in it now. It was a simple sign of pure lust and passion, sparkling with a desire not fulfilled for a long time.  
There would be a battle for dominance between the two of them as both knew and that battle wouldn't end until one would be lying on his back, panting and sweating.

Strong hands ripped at the buttons of Natashas white blouse. She was all going for the 'business'-look tonight but as nice as it looked it was tremendously impractical when it came to undressing. Finally the last button was undone and Clint's eyes widened when he realized there was no bra underneath.

“You planned this”, he added with a grin on his lips “Sometimes you're really sleazy.”  
“Don't act like you don't like it.”  
“In fact... I like it very much.”

Clint was certain there would be several bruises on his neck the next day, going by the way Natasha sucked and bit his sensitive skin just below his jawline while opening his belt and trousers and the same time. Impatiently he undid the button of his own shirt, shrugging the disturbing piece of clothing off his shoulders.  
Soft hands roamed over his broad chest in an almost admiring manner.

“You're still in quite good shape.” she practically moaned into his ear.  
“Thanks. And you're still as beautiful as it gets.”

A strong push and Natasha flew onto the bed, her blouse hanging loosely from her shoulders and her skirt being pushed up quite far, revealing long and pale legs.

After he got rid of his trousers and underwear, Clint almost launched himself onto her. Without losing any time, he was nibbling his way down Natasha's neck, placing a few kisses on her collarbone and finally caressing those soft and firm breasts. He would have done this for hours, just sucking at the slightly puffy and pink nipples, if not for the commanding voice suddenly escaping the body beneath him.   
“Hngh. No time for too much foreplay. I haven't had sex in... I don't know how long but it was too long. Could we please get to the interesting part?”

Clint took the hint and jerked down her skirt and underwear. He admired the sight for just a second, before shoving two fingers into her. A grin spread on his face as he realized how extremely wet Natasha already voice, almost dripping onto the sheets. Obviously he still knew to turn her own. Crooking his fingers slightly it only took him three seconds to find her sweet spot and fingering her into heaven. Her small moans grew into loud cries of pleasure but even when Clint felt her muscles clenching around his fingers, he didn't stop. After all this time he had to show who's in charge of situation, even if it was just in bed.  
When the waves of her first orgasms subsided, she managed to form a coherent sentence again.

“Give me my skirt. There's a condom in the front pocket. Oh, don't look at me that way, as you've said: I have planned this...”

Clint did as he was told and handed her the little foil package. She opened it up and set the condom onto the tip of the glistening cock in front of her. But of course she wouldn't roll it down like a normal woman – instead she used her mouth, taking the whole length in while pressing the condom down with her soft lips.

“You're unbelievable.”  
“I know.”

The sheer arrogance in her voice had always been a huge turn-on for Clint. He took hold of her ankles, spreading the legs wide, before sliding into her in one swift motion. Even through the thin layer of latex he could feel the wetness and heat, which made him moan from the button of his lungs.

“Fuck me.”  
“Oh, trust me, I will.”

And with that he practically began pounding into her ruthlessly. Her eyes fluttered shut and her beautiful breasts moved in the rhythm of his thrusts. Clint knew this wouldn't take long but he didn't care too much about prolonging the intercourse. Going by her little screams and the way she clang to the sheets as if her life depended on it, Natasha was already out of her mind.  
Her hands found their way to Clint's back and he could feel every orgasm she had not only by the tight feeling around his cock, but also by the way her fingernails dug into his skin, leaving marks that would linger there for days.

“Fuck, I'm about to...”  
“Yes, Clint, let go, come for me, in me, with me!”, she screamed and that was enough for him.   
His whole body tensed up and for a second his world went black, little stars dancing in front of his eyes. He released the grip on Natasha's ankles and lay down onto her soft body for just a few seconds.

“Now that was nice”, Natasha practically purred.  
“Indeed.”

Clint pulled out of her and disposed of the condom in a little bin under the nearby desk, before he got back onto bed, trying to slow his breath.

“Uhm. Look. Clint...”  
“Yes, I know, it was just sex. I know you don't love me. And I don't love you as well.”  
“Good, good, I didn't want to rise any false hopes.”  
“You haven't. There's no way I'd want to have a relationship with you again.”, he added chuckling.  
“What about being friends?”  
“Being friends sounds good.”


	6. Chapter 6

Within four seconds Loki regretted deeply what he just had said. He should have gone for “No, I'm not into anyone.” or maybe even “I'm asexual.”. But of course he had to mutter some nonsense just to fit in. After all it was in his nature to strive for some kind of perfection – even if it was just about playing a young innocent women to study human beings.

“Laurie, you HAVE to tell us about him! Is he handsome?”  
“Yeah, Laurie, come on, don't be shy. I bet he's a total hottie!”  
“Where did you meet him? Does he have any idea you like him?”  
“Have you asked him on a date already? Girls don't have to wait for men to make the first move any more, you know...”

Question were thrown onto him from all angles, the women and girls almost giggling hysterically. Who would have thought the innocent and always so short-spoken Laura would be interested in men some day, let alone being in love with some guy.

He cleared his throat and raised the voice that almost sounded familiar to him now.

“It's... really... it's... forget it. There's nothing between us and I'm not sure he even knows I exist.”  
Obviously Sarah wanted to hear nothing of it.  
“What about a makeover, eh? Want to meet me tomorrow? We'll get you some new clothes, a short skirt maybe. You've definitely got the looks for it, Laurie. Or a tight little dress. I bet my ass he'll know you exist if you present that nice booty of yours.”  
“Sarah, it's really nice you're asking but I don't really think it's necessary and it probably wouldn't be any good. ”

Other girls joined the conversation again, assuring that it would simply take some 'fancy dresses' and Trevor – one of the most popular hairdressers in the city – to turn Laura into the next Miss America. Though most of the females buzzing around the book store right now were indeed well endowed when it came to intelligence and education, even they couldn't deny their interest in the simplest of human desires: love and sex.   
Loki had learned quite quickly that those were the points that really got people going. Whether it was a mother taking care of her seven children or the bachelor working his ass of all day: in the end pretty much every one was looking for someone to lean on – or at least someone to fuck senseless. Occasionally Loki wasn't sure whether humans themselves could tell the difference between those two things. But it was an important part of human nature and if we wanted to a successful leader, he got to understand even the most trivial actions.

It was the sound of retching that actually saved him more embarrassing questions. He hadn't even realized Sarah had disappeared to the small bathroom behind the front desk, but now she emerged slowly, her face pale and her legs wobbly. No doubt she had been throwing up and suddenly all eyes were fixed onto her.  
As she sat down slowly onto her chair again, Martha, the oldest of the 14 women, sat down next to her and petted her shoulder in a motherly and reassuring way.  
“Sarah, darling, are you okay? You don't look too good. Have you eating anything bad?” she asked, her voice full of concern.  
“No, I haven't. It's rather... look... I know I'm young but I always wanted to be a young mother so... yeah, well, I'm pregnant.”

Two seconds of silence filled the room before everyone broke out into congratulations and tears and smiling. Well, everyone except Loki, who sat on his chair being totally baffled. He'd never been confronted with human pregnancy and the thought of someone bringing a child into the world and raising it, made something inside him cringe. After a few moments he realized that not wishing Sarah all the best might seem a bit offensive and definitely unfriendly, he forced himself to get up and hug his 'friend' in an awkward manner.  
The next half an hour was filled with discussions about baby stuff. Who the father was, whether she would have a baby shower and when (it was actually out of question not to have one), whether she would rather have a boy or a girl – all the things that obviously mattered a lot to woman in childbearing age. And of course names had to discussed as well.

Loki just wanted to leave when a particular fateful part of the conversation arose.

A young girl added with her eyes fixed on Loki: “You know what would be a nice name for a boy? Clint.”  
The other ones broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.  
“Clint is actually really a nice name. Maybe it's just because I associate it with a very decent young man.” Martha added with a calm smile on her face. “You know how I've told you all about my nephew? Jonathan? Well, his archery coach is a real keeper, bringing my boy home after training each time.”  
Loki's eyes widened at the word 'archery' and Martha got worried once again.  
“Laurie? Are you alright?”  
“Would you happen... to have a photo of that man?” Loki asked, his voice being even too high for the role of Laura.  
“Wait, just let me check.” Martha said, pulling out her smartphone. In a few seconds she had opened the website of the archery school and handed the phone over. “Look, that's him. Why do you ask? … Oh my god. Is it him?”  
Loki fixed his not-so-own eyes on the little screen. Of course he did recognize the man, even when he hadn't met him for a couple of years.

“Yes. It's him.”


	7. Back to Work

Two weeks. They've been in the base for two and a half weeks and it couldn't get any more boring.

Of course there were a lot of different facilities, so exercising, relaxing and studying got them at least any kind of distraction. But on day 17, Clint had enough. He stormed into Fury's office, wanting either to get into action or go home – though he would miss the rain shower and the pool table for sure. And maybe the fact that he hadn't used his own bed very much in the couple of nights...

“Fury”, he said in a voice full of frustration. “There hasn't been another sighting of Loki since we've arrived here. Why do you still keep us here? Look, I could get three weeks off at my job, but I really have to go back now. Well, unless there is some actual work to do, like going out there and shooting... well... something.”

Nick Fury hadn't moved a bit and was still studying the papers in front of him when Clint finished talking. Slowly he looked up, his face giving no hint of his emotions – as always.

“You are no prisoner to us, Mr. Barton. If you want to leave, feel free to do so. I wouldn't count on being a part of the Avengers any more though, if you step out of our little base here. You are a free man and we treat you this way.” His voice sounded friendly, but Clint could clearly see the provocation in Nick's eye.  
The marksman was torn, knowing he could probably do something good in this group but wanting to go home as well. Sitting and waiting was just not his favourite way of spending his time.  
Before he could make a decision, Nick spoke up again.  
“Mr. Barton. It would be a shame to lose you, you have extraordinary skills and I'm sure Natasha would miss you in one way or the other as well. Let's see if I can do something for you. Despite your thinking I can be some kind of nice person. If have other duties to fulfil: I don't want you to get in trouble.” He opened a drawer of his desk and slid a small mobile phone across to Clint. “If I call you, you have to be here within 15 minutes, do you understand? There will be no questions and you do any task given. If you agree on this, we might keep you in this group.”

With a small smile on his face, Clint took the phone and slid it into his pocket.

“Of course. Just call me. I'll be there. I just... the last time I was a part of this my life went down afterwards. I need to take care of some things.”  
“Good luck, Mr. Barton”, Fury added and focussed on his work again.

Clint turned around on his heel. He just had a small backpack with him when he arrived so there wasn't much packing to do. After he had gathered all his stuff, he was ready to leave but there was one thing left to do.

Hesitantly he knocked on Natasha's door, knowing he had to say goodbye, even if it was just for some hours or days. A few seconds later he heard some rustling behind the door and it was opened for him. Natasha already had her usual black, skin tight suit on, obviously ready for another round of training.  
“Clint? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be down in the gym as well.”  
“Yes, I wanted to but... Natasha. I'll leave. Well, not forever. But there's nothing I can do here at the moment and I do have another life besides from being Hawkeye. I've got a job and a rent to pay, so... yeah, I'll be back in my normal life for the couple of days. When Fury calls me, I'll come back here in an instant.”  
“Well, I guess that's a reasonable thing to do. I'm not as attached as you, so I'll probably stay here. Just take of yourself, will you?”, she asked softly.  
“Of course I will. I survived Budapest at your side, I'll survive everything else as well.”  
Three hours later, Clint was back in his flat. It was still the same small, miserable and crammed apartment but somehow it seemed brighter this afternoon. Maybe he didn't do anything productive within the last two weeks, but at least Fury and other people showed him he was still needed and appreciated and – in Natasha's case – desired.

The red light on his answering machine was blinking furiously and Clint pushed the play button before he started unpacking his things. The first three messages had been the usual annoying surveys and promotions, which he deleted instantly. 'Only two ones left', he thought to himself. The fourth one was from his landlord, telling him there was a problem with the lift and he would have to use the stairs in the next couple of weeks. No big deal for him. But it was the last one, which caught his attention. It was Michael, his boss, and at first Clint thought, there was a problem with him being away for two weeks. Nothing like that was the case though, instead Michael sounded cheery.  
“I suppose you're still on holiday so I'll just leave a message. You've gotta come back soon, Clint. I think you've got an admirer. Young woman came in a couple of days ago, asking for you. She's a real cutie. Maybe a bit young but... well, doesn't matter, does it? Anyway, you might want to see her yourself, just wanted to let you know. Take care.”

Clint called back next minute and asked whether he could get the shift next day. Sure, officially he had two days of holidays left but there was nothing he wanted more right now than going back to work. Michael accepted gladly, knowing Clint was by far his best teacher and the kids would be happy to have him back sooner as well. A short call at Jonathan's place and it was set he would take the boy back home safely after training. Though Clint couldn't really grasp why Jonathan's aunt was giggling so much before she hung up...

 

* * *

 

His classes went incredibly well and most of the kids almost clung to him after they were done practising. Obviously his substitution teacher wasn't as 'cool' and 'badass' as him, as the children had phrased it. He smiled at their obvious signs of affection, not wasting one thought on Nick Fury, Loki or Natasha in those moments.

It was already dark outside when Jonathan accompanied him to his car. But just as they wanted to enter the parking lot, a blonde woman emerged from the shadows and walked up to them. It took Clint only a few seconds to realize this must have been the girl Michael was talking about. She looked indeed quite young, but attractive nonetheless. There was something about her that made Clint shiver. He felt like he had seen her before, maybe even knew her quite good. But her face bore no resemblance to anyone he had ever met.

Still lost in thoughts he didn't notice in the first place when the woman was smiling at him and cleared her throat. Only her words pulled him out of his trance.

“Hi, I'm Laura.”


	8. Research

There were a few things that used to baffle Loki on several occasions while he was studying various aspects of human life.

First, there was the huge amount of variation in language. As much as he despised him for other things he had done, Loki was thankful for Odin making him study a lot as a child and even as an adult. Though he was quite interested in other cultures himself, it was his adoptive father who made sure he learned the most important languages of other worlds. In case of the earth this was English, but not only was Loki surprised by how many other languages there existed on this planet but also by how much the English he learned differed from the one spoken especially in New York City.

Of course he was a master in shapeshifting and it had only taken him a couple of days to learn which kind of shapes occurred more often than others in the city and how to mimic them so perfectly, nobody could tell a difference at a first glance. That was just until he opened his mouth, though. Initially Loki thought he had chosen his voice to be too high or too low for the particular character he was impersonating, but after a while he had to realize his powerful and distinguished way of speaking did neither suit a homeless guy in his mid fifties nor a young woman of the middle class.

In the end it had been a lot of trial and error for him, after he had watched and listened to an awful amount of people talking in their daily lives. Obviously a pretty blonde could get away easily with a “Fuck off.” in a bar full of strangers while the same words could cause quite a lot of trouble for a not-too-broad man sitting alone in a corner. But even if they weren't the most pleasant ones, each of these experiences brought Loki closer to his goal of understanding the human nature. So far he felt more like an Asgardian scientist more than the future ruler of the earth and surprisingly enough that wasn't a feeling too bad at all.

After he mastered the language – and of course it was only a matter of time until he did, he was a powerful god after all – Loki focused his studies more and more on interactions between people since he discovered feelings and relationships were the greatest weakness of most human beings. That was when he discovered the second thing to leave him speechless a couple of times: The apparent influence of a female representative of the homo sapiens on a male one. Of course there males only interested in other males, the god of mischief was fully aware of that as well, but on an extraordinary number of occasions the pair of boobs his current shape was carrying around did get him anything he wanted to have by several men: whether it was attention, money, a free drink or information.

* * *

 

Quite obviously even the once famous and now still interesting Clint Barton wasn't immune to the sight of a pretty young woman. At least said man was looking blatantly at the cleavage in front of him though he knew it was probably a kind of inappropriate thing to do.  
Even as Laura, Loki would have never chosen the outfit he wore now by himself. He couldn't explain that there was no need for him to buy new clothes as he could simply shift them into anything he wanted them to be, so accepted the offer by Sarah and went on a 'girls only shopping trip' with her. When Sarah threw short skirts, tight dresses and very low-cut tops at him, Loki was more than skeptic. How would those things help him getting closer to Hawkeye? Of course he couldn't just walk up to him in his very own shape after all what happened the last time they had met. But Loki knew he needed the man to be at his side when he wanted to rule the earth and so he simply had to use the body of another person to persuade him.  
Just when he wanted to protest, he remembered the several encounters with men as Laura and he slipped into a knee long black dress with a rather deep cleavage.

The same dress he was wearing now and it did a truly great job.

“I'm sorry, I was just... uhm. Hi Laura, I'm Clint, nice to meet you. Anything I can help you with?”

For a moment Loki thought about going the way Sarah and Martha had told him to go. Pretending to be interested in the lessons, spend some time with him at training, ask him out later – just the slow and smooth way of doing it. But in an instant Loki realized, that this way would be much too time consuming and he might reject the offer anyway, so why not try is luck right away?

“Your number would help me very much, Clint. I'm sorry if that's too intrusive but yeah, I've seen you on tv a few years ago and I've been interested in meeting you since then and well, here I am.”

Both of them had forgotten Jonathan until he suddenly spoke up: “Hey, you know my aunt, don't you?”

Loki was startled though he knew it must have been Martha's nephew Clint was about to take home now. He just hadn't expected him to interfere his plans.

“Yes, that's right, we're in the same book club. And I'm sure she will be quite worried if you don't get home on time, wouldn't she?”, Loki almost sang in a sweet and innocent voice.

Though Clint still had the feeling something was off there was no way he could resist the charm of the young lady and hastily scribbled down his number on a piece of paper before giving it to Laura.

“The lady is right, Jonathan, better not to late your aunt wait. It was a pleasure to meet you, Laura, maybe we could meet some time for a coffee? Just, give me a call. Bye.”

Clint pulled Jonathan to his car in an effort to save the time they had lost at their brief encounter with that strange but quite interesting woman.  
Just when they were out of earshot, Loki whispered more to himself than anyone else:

“Oh, I will, for sure...”


	9. Texting

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

The question catches Clint off-guard.

Of course they had talked on their rides home before – about the weather, the training, Jonathan's aunt, recent movies or books, school and a variation of other topics. But so far it had never been anything too personal.  
First of all, Jonathan didn't trust anyone too easily. After his parents died, he had built a wall around himself though he still acted like a friendly teenager. Letting anyone really taking part in his life was a different thing though. As far as Clint knew, Jonathan didn't have too many friends, partly because he didn't want to bond with others, partly because of his overprotective aunt.

So when Jonathan addresses something quite personal, Clint is genuinely surprised.

“Uhm... no. Not really.”  
“What does 'Not really' mean? A wife then? Or something more... casual?”

Damn, this kid was really smart.

“I simply have some good friends. But I am single.”  
“This girl, Laura, she seems to be nice. Aunt Martha talked a lot about her. She must be very intelligent, at least that's what everybody thinks.”  
“She said something about a book club... though she didn't really look like someone who would be interested in book.”

Clint thought about the black dress clinging to Laura's slim but rather curvy body. So she was pretty and she was smart.  
Of course he himself wasn't a dumb person as well, he knew a lot about physics and was quite interested in history. But Clint didn't consider himself anything near really intelligent so he was even more confused now, why a woman like that should be interested in him.

“Yeah, she rather looks like a girl you'd hook up with in a club, get into a toilet and never call again.”  
“Jonathan! You should really watch your mouth. I'm sure your aunt wouldn't be happy about it....”  
“I'm sorry.”  
“It's okay. Puberty had to hit you sooner or later”, Clint added with a chuckle.

 

* * *

 

When he was finally back in his flat, Clint couldn't shake off the thought that something was really strange about Laura. Sure, Natasha was a smart and astonishingly beautiful woman as well, so obviously he was able to attract females playing in a higher league, if there existed such things. But this girl – she was definitely different in so many ways.

At first he thought she might be one of those fangirls who chased him after the Manhatten-incident. A modern version of Legolas with a well-defined upper body was the fantasy of plenty of young (and oddly enough also elderly) women, which had earned him at least a couple of letters and e-mails and on some occasions even fans declaring their love in person.  
As soon as the public was aware of his connection with Natasha though, most of the fangirls lost interest in him. They simply knew a nerdy young woman with glasses and a band shirt couldn't be on par with a lady like Natasha, who seemed to be a perfect combination of class, beauty, intellect and combat skills.

Clint thought about the possibility, that Laura had indeed been one of them and knew he was 'free' again, but dismissed the idea only a few seconds later. She probably wasn't interested in gossip or anything like the team of 'super heroes' who saved the world from an alien attack some years ago.

Turning on his laptop, he was still convinced he already knew her. Thanks to the world wide web it was easy to find plenty of articles, interviews and videos of the time directly after 'New York'.  
But none of the interviewers was a young blond girl and he couldn't find an article written by a Laura either. The bright light of the screen tired him out more and more, until Clint decided to go to bed.

Just when he flipped back the blue-and-white-striped cover, the text alert of his phone rang through the flat. He already knew who the sender was when he didn't recognize the number.

_Did you get home safely? - L._

_Yes, thanks. Hope you did as well? - Clint_

_Yeah, only a short ride._  
 _Would you like to have dinner tomorrow? - L._

Now that was pretty unexpected. Clint thought there would be at least some flirting via texts or calls. Despite being young and apparently a clever book-worm, Laura was a pretty offensive and open person. Exactly the kind of woman he had always been interested in.

_Oh, I'm sorry, that was a bit fast probably. - L._

Clint thought about a reply for a few seconds. Hell, what did he have to lose?

_Dinner is fine. How about 8 p.m. at the Amici? I know the owner and can probably get us a table. - Clint_

Of course he knew the owner. Tony had bought the place a few weeks ago, because he didn't like the style of the tablecloth and the old owner didn't want to change them.  
It was a rather fancy and very popular place, so getting a table within such a short time was some kind of miracle.

_Sounds amazing! See you tomorrow. - L._

_Looking forward to it. Sleep well. - Clint_

After setting the alarm for the next day, Clint put his phone down onto his nightstand. He hadn't lied: Indeed he was looking forward to the dinner.

Soon he would realize, that this dinner would change his life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, that's a short one. ;) But chapter 10 will have some serious action inside.


	10. Date-Night

Tony was surprised to get a call from him, but it didn't take Clint longer than two minutes to have a table reserved for the evening. Of course Mr. Stark couldn't hold back several insinuating comments, especially after he was aware, it wasn't Natasha Clint planned on bringing to the Amici.

“Got yourself a new girlfriend, Legolas?”  
“Look, Tony, if you don't want me to eat there, that's fine...”  
“Ah, don't be upset. Of course you'll get a table. And of course everything you order is on the house. Don't worry about picking the right wine. I'll have the best waiter take care of you tonight.”  
“Thank you.”  
“It's all fine. Just cover my back whenever some weirdo from outer space wants to make my home his base again and we're fine.”  
“I will, Tony. Maybe I'll get the chance soon.”  
“Probably. Bye, Clint.”

* * *

 

After all the strange feelings he had when he first saw her and the things he heard about her from Jonathan, Clint expected his date with Laura to be extraordinary in at least a couple of ways.  
Eighty-seven minutes into the date, he felt disappointment rising in him though.

Certainly she was nice, clever and witty, but he missed the big 'bang' he had anticipated. Suddenly he started thinking whether dating an international agent involved in several killings had moved his standards in women to an unhealthy level, leaving him unable to appreciate amazing persons who just didn't like to shoot someone.

“You're thinking of her, aren't you?”, Laura suddenly asked with a smile on her face. A smile, that didn't quite reach her eyes.  
“Excuse me?”  
“Your ex- girlfriend. The red-head. It was all over the newspapers.”  
“I thought you wouldn't be interested in this kind of gossip.”  
“Well, if it's gossip about a handsome man, even I buy those trashy magazines sometimes.”  
Clint felt flattered and couldn't hold back a grin. Nervously he started fumbling with the corner of the crisp white tablecloth.  
“Yeah, you were right, I was thinking of her. Not in a good way though.”  
“There are more interesting people in this and other worlds anyway.”

This and other worlds? Now this was a strange thing to say for a down-to-earth girl like Laura, wasn't it? But when Clint wanted to open his mouth to investigate that matter, his thoughts were already scattered by Laura's next words.

“Nah, don't listen to me, I didn't mean to imply you had a bad taste for company. You're with me aren't you? Let's have dessert instead. I've spotted some fancy stuff on the menu.” 

* * *

 

As Tony had promised, they were taken care of by probably the best waiter of New York City and obviously Laura was impressed by the place and service.  
After his third glass of wine he had finally started to relax and dismiss his thoughts of Natasha. He came to realize that after all the action, the super-villain hunting and alien attacks, a girl that was amazingly smart and beautiful yet normal and involved in purely earthly matters, was probably just the person he needed right now.

“Thank you so much for taking me here.”  
“You're really welcome, Laura.  
“The dinner was amazing. Fancy leaving though and heading into a bar for a drink?”  
“Sure, why not?”  
“I know a nice place just a couple of blocks away. Just need to visit the bathroom first.”  
“Sounds great. I'll take care of the bill and wait for you at the checkroom.”

Relieved Laura didn't notice him not having to pay, Clint said his thanks to the waiter and got their coats. He helped her into the garment and smiled, as they left the restaurant.

Outside, he looked as his companion and felt a sudden wave of heat rush through him. There was something wrong, seriously wrong and after the blink of an eye he knew what it was.  
With a slightly unsteady voice he asked a question he knew the answer to.  
“Were you wearing contacts?”  
“No, why do you ask?”, Laura replied with a smile, though a hint of doubt was visible on her face.  
“Your eyes.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“They were brown, a deep dark brown, the whole time. Now they're not. They're green and I think I've seen this particular shade of green before.”  
“So?”  
“So either you were wearing colored contacts or you're someone else.”

Laura sighed. Or rather: Loki sighed. He knew there was no sense in pretending anymore and his voice dropped to his very own tone.

“And who exactly do you think I am?”, Loki said, taking a step around the corner of the building. He was now hidden in the shadows and hardly visible from the street.  
“Oh fuck.”  
“Please, Clint – or should I call you Hawkeye – I thought you were more of the eloquent type.”  
“Why this charade?”  
“I wanted to get to know humans before I rule them. And you wouldn't have talked to me if you knew it was me, would you?”

Clint squinted his eyes. The blond young woman had obviously turned into the god of mischief. Shapeshifting. Of course. Loki was a master of this technique.

“Now answer me, my once so loyal human servant – do you care to work for me again? I'm sure your talents will be way more useful under my guard. Or do you prefer the oh so mighty Avengers to rule your life and narrow you down to a sidekick without real meaning?”

Of course Clint knew the correct answer should be something like “You stupid fuck, you'd better be glad if I'll let you live.”. He was standing in front of the one guy, Nick Fury and his super hero squad was looking for desperately for a couple of weeks now.

But instead of making clear, that he isn't interested in any kind of cooperation with the god that once almost had the earth destroyed, Clint started thinking about it. Loki had a point there to be honest. He was indeed treated like a meaningless sidekick by most of the people. Hell, Fury had even pointed out that nobody would really miss him. And now here he was, stuck with someone whom he thought to be an attractive young woman which he might get off with later.  
Tony would probably laugh at him if he'd ever hear of that story and his other 'friends' would either join the laughter or shake their heads over the fact how stupid he had been for thinking there would be a real person like this interested in him.

Suddenly Clint felt an enormous amount of anger bubbling inside him, slowly finding it's way to the surface. He had enough of being treated like a mediocre person, like the small boy who had just made it into the baseball team because his father was a big guy in politics. He was sick of always doing the right thing and not getting a reward.

So instead of trying to capture Loki and get him to 'Fury and friends', Clint decided to turn his life around in the most dramatic way.

A warm voice, almost dripping with sweet arrogance, brought him back to reality.

“Have you made the most important decision of your short human life?”  
“I did. Care to elaborate what's in it for me again?”  
The corners of Loki's mouth lifted up into a smile instantly.

“Of course, Clint. Just listen carefully...”


	11. Getting together

A storm rolled over Manhattan when Thor had finally arrived in Nick Fury's secret base, his face being almost as dark and clouded as the sky above the city. Of course the weather wasn't coincidentally matching the mood of the god of thunder, who destroyed a couple of innocent trees and street signs on his way.

The guards watching over the main entrance didn't even try to stop him from rushing into the building. In their short briefing by Fury, they were indeed warned that some day a “tall guy with long blond hair and a red cape” might turn up and they shouldn't even think of getting in his way if they didn't want their asses struck by lightning.

The door to Fury's office was almost ripped from it's angles when Thor opened it, letting it smash into the wall.

“You!”, Thor shouted across the room, pointing Mjölnir at the man sitting at the desk.  
“Welcome. Please, have a...”  
“Stop it, you unworthy human creature. Why has nobody informed me of the arrival of my brother on this planet?”  
“Well, he didn't do anything so far and we thought...”, Fury started but was cut off mid-sentence.  
“You can't stop him on your own and it is my duty to watch over him and all his actions.”  
“So he is still a prisoner in Asgard and you are the watchdog?”  
“Oh, you're so lovely when you're all wrong.”  
“Please, go on and enlighten me.”  
“For the present time, my brother is no prisoner at all. He is the king of Asgard.”

 

* * *

 

At the same time, a few miles south.

Loki opened the front door of his mansion and held it open for his new companion.  
“Welcome to my earthly castle. I admit, it's not as glorious as it should be, but it is a start and I've come to realize the humans aren't too fond of enormous palaces out of gold and with walls which are higher than this.” he said, gesturing towards the ceiling.  
A smile crossed Clint's lips when he entered the building.  
“Well, you could choose a church. At least there are higher walls. And they are made to worship a god.”  
“Not for a god like me, I fear. I wouldn't send my son to earth to have him tortured. Unless he would give me a good reason. But still, I don't judge you humans any more. It's clearly not your own fault you have failed so miserably in making something out of your existence.”

For a moment, Clint was at a loss for words. Actually he had always thought people were responsible for their own lives and blaming a higher power for failure was a thing only morons did. But that was before he had met two gods in person and he still had trouble processing these encounters completely.

“So you're saying we've always believed in the wrong god and that's why we failed?”

Loki eyed Clint and suddenly started laughing. It wasn't an evil or maniac laughter, but the simple and open-hearted one of a person being genuinely amused.  
After patting Clint's back, he led him into the tract of the building where the bedrooms were. The smaller ones for guests, of course, not the master bedrooms.

“I'm not speaking of gods. Though it definitely has it's advantages to know which ones are real and which ones are simple products of the imagination of desperate people. No, my dear fellow, I'm talking of leaders. Rulers. Kings. Presidents. Tyrants. Human beings that made their way to the top of a country – in one way or the other – and weren't able to set things straight. I've spent some time on earth now and though I still feel pity for you tiny creatures, I have to say there is an enormous potential. You are nothing like Asgardians but that might be a virtue after all. The creativity of some human minds even managed to amaze me on several occasions and there are other ones – like you – who have an incredible will power. When I made you my servant a few years ago, I felt your inner struggle. You might not know it yet, though you have already made the decision for the present day back in that time. So far you were the only human being who would have had the actual power to break the spell and free your mind. But you chose not to do so. That's why I need you.”

They finally arrived in a nice and big room at the end of a corridor. The bed seemed to be freshly made and suddenly Clint felt exhausted by the events of day. The thought of slipping under the covers seemed more than inviting and he sat on the edge of the bed, looking up to Loki.

“Why? Because my life had been miserable enough so I would join your army of darkness?”

“Not at all, Clint, not at all. I wanted you, because I sensed you are indeed a superior human being. You're the first one which got me interested and I'm curious to see what's to discover behind those sharp and pretty eyes of yours.”

With that he slipped out of the room and closed the door, leaving a tired but confused Clint behind.  
Confused not only for the fact that Loki saw him as superior, but more for the thought that he got an honest compliment for his eyes for the the first time in his life – and it had come from a god.


End file.
